Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Short Interest Update

Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,180,000 shares, a decline of 8.9% from the July 15th total of 4,590,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,060,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ATO. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $14,863,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 194.8% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 6,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $786,000 after acquiring an additional 4,481 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $1,043,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 411,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,725,000 after acquiring an additional 20,520 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 24,279 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,814,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $133.17.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:ATO opened at $129.37 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.52 billion, a PE ratio of 19.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $121.80 and its 200 day moving average is $117.79. Atmos Energy has a 12 month low of $101.00 and a 12 month high of $132.24.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 24.65% and a return on equity of 9.01%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Atmos Energy will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 48.28%.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

Atmos Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the regulated natural gas distribution, and pipeline and storage businesses in the United States. It operates through two segments, Distribution, and Pipeline and Storage. The Distribution segment is involved in the regulated natural gas distribution and related sales operations in eight states.